September 7, 2004—Aside from its intention to sell the middleware that helps companies manage data produced by radio frequency identification implementations, Microsoft wants to participate in RFID's role in the consumer's home. The company is considering the next decade, when it predicts homes will be "smart," enabled by appliances that communicate with their contents. Consider a microwave that automatically downloads and executes preparation instructions included on the RFID tag affixed to the TV dinner placed inside. Says Microsoft's lead coordinator on the consumer prototype and strategy team, "The assumption we're making is that most objects in the future will have RFID chips or tags on them."